THE  DEVI  ^ 

IN  -"^OfilCAL 

CAP  AND  GOWN 


An  examination  cf  an  article,  published  in  the  February  issue 

of    The  Biblical  IForld,  by  Lucius  Hopkins  Miller, 

Professor*    of    Biblical    Instruction, 

Princeton  University 

♦In  the  Official  Register  of  Princeton  University — "Assistant  Professor." 


By 
FORD   C.  OTTMAN 


10  cents  a  copy,  $1.00  a  dozen 


ARNO  C.  GAEBELEIN,    Publisher 
456  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


Copyright,  ARNO  C.  GAEBELEIN,  1914 


DEDICATED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  THE  MEN  AND  WOMEN 
WHOSE  LARGE-HEARTED  LIBERALITY  FOUNDED  PRINCETON 
UNIVERSITY    ON    THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 


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The  Devil  in  Cap  and  Gown. 

The  Devil,  squirming  and  wriggling  in  *'cap  and 
gown,"  has  been  permitted  and  allowed,  by  some 
inconceivable  miscalculation — or  inscrutable  lack 
of  vigilance — on  the  part  of  those  in  authority 
to  undulate  himself  into  the  chair  of  "Biblical 
Instruction"  in  one  of  our  great  universities.  In 
that  officially  protected  position,  assuming  a  hum- 
an form,  and  controlling  —  so,  at  least,  it  would 
seem — a  personality  that  is  perhaps  unconscious 
of  his  dominance,  he  is,  either  with  or  without 
the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  Regents, 
deliberately  palming  himself  off  as  a  relig- 
ious instructor  of  youth.  Though  cleverly  clad 
in  scholastic  garb,  he  is  without  ability  to  conceal 
his  identity,  which  is  fully  disclosed  by  a  nasty 
and  offensive  trail  that  he  has  recently  made. 

The  Devil,  in  every  age,  under  all  circum- 
stances, in  whatsoever  cloak  and  domino,  is  the 
Devil  always,  with  no  sign,  no  stamp,  not  even 
a  streak  of  originality.  During  the  six  thousand 
years  of  his  sleepless  activity  he  has  been  pounding 
on  the  same  old  bell,  and  the  tedious  and  tiresome 
recurrence  of  the  one  monotonous  tintinnabulation 
is  irritating  usque  ad  nauseam.  Pest-laden  him- 
self with  distrust  of  God,  he  has  in  all  ages  infected 


2  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

whomsoever  he  could  with  the  virulent  disorder 
of  that  soul-destroying  disease.  In  the  garden  of 
Eden,  it  was — "Yea,  hath  God  said?";  in  the 
wilderness  of  Judea,  it  was — *'If  thou  be  the  Son 
of  God";  though  so  had  God  pronounced!  Ever 
questioning  God,  forever  the  same;  and  now,  in 
the  university  class-room,  he  is  exhaling  his 
noxious  vapor,  and  polluting  the  atmosphere  with 
his  deadly  miasma  of  doubt. 

The  human  tube  through  which  the  gas  is  blown 
enables  us  easily  to  discriminate  the  ''Assistant" 
from  the  Devil.  By  a  singular  combination  of  the 
mental  faculties  of  both — this  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr. 
Hyde — the  "critical  test"  is  applied  to  the  Gospels 
and  to  the  life  of  Christ,  and  there  are  "achieved 
results  which  are  sure  and  extensive  enough  to 
satisfy  fair-minded  men." 

Without  further  reflection  on  the  title  or  the 
livery  of  this  duplex  personality,  we  shall  accept 
the  label  that  clepes  the  one,  and  shall  now  address 
ourselves  exclusively  to  the  nuncupative  "Pro- 
fessor of  Biblical  Instruction." 

He  is  no  tyro,  this  Professor,  no  abecedarian, 
no  tutor  of  propaedeutics:  no,  indeed,  he  is  a  full- 
fledged  "Assistant  Professor";  a  past-master  of 
Induction  and  Inference.  From  the  steaming 
])rain-pan  of  his  stewing  wits  there  has  been 
poured  out  recently  a  malodorous  broth  that  is 
now  on  exhibit  in  the  galipot  of  the  critical 
ecclesiologist. 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  3 

The  stirring  of  that  unsavory  rheum  is  neither 
alluring  nor  appetizing,  but  somebody  ought  to 
do  it  in  order  to  find  out  whether  or  not  there  is 
"death  in  the  pot." 

It  is  presumed,  to  begin  with,  that  an  injection 
of  this  succulent  serum  will  cause  the  scales  to 
fall  from  our  eyes,  and,  with  a  new-found  vision, 
we  shall  be  able  to  behold — 

The  Life  of  Jesus  in  the  Light  of  Modern 
Criticism 

Nunc  est  bibendiwi. 

*Tor  the  intelligent  layman  the  problems  raised 
by  biblical  criticism  become  most  acute  when  they 
concern  the  Gospels  and  the  life  of  Christ." 

The  "inteUigent  layman"  will  no  more  question 
the  "acuteness"  of  his  "problems,"  if  he  swallows, 
without  regurgitation,  the  dose  prepared  by  the 
"biblical  critic"  whose  cerebral  effusion  is  now 
under  observation.  Immediately  after  degluti- 
tion he  will  have  to  face  the  "problem"  of — 

The  Early  Influences  Under  Which  Jesus 
Lived 

"In  the  light  of  modern  criticism" — the  fulvid 
flame  that  leaps  from  the  pit ^" what  is  reason- 
ably certain  regarding  the  general  course  of  Jesus' 
life?" 


4  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

Reasonably  certain!  That  is  the  question.  By 
all  means  let  the  gas  be  turned  on  that  we  may 
see  the  "acuteness"  of  this  "problem"! 

"The  historian  does  not  ask,  'How  jnight  Jesus 
have  been  born?'  nor,  'How  7nust  He  have  been 
born?'  but  simply — 'Under  what  circumstances 
was  he  born?'  " 

Mirahile  dictu! 

But  wait.  Professor  Duplex,  out  of  the  wealth 
of  his  erudition,  is  about  to  answer  the  historian's 
question. 

"Our  sources  of  information  do  not  enable  us 
to  answer  explicitly.  It  is  not  clear  just  when  he 
was  born,  nor  where,  nor  under  what  circum- 
stances. It  is  certain  that  this  significant  event 
in  the  history  of  mankind  occurred  near  the  end 
of  the  reign  of  Herod  the  Great,  somewhere  in 
what  we  now  call  Palestine.  If  you  should  press 
me  for  my  opinion  regarding  further  details,  I 
would  say  that  he  was  probably  the  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  and  that  he  was  born  in  Nazareth  of 
Galilee." 

That  is  the  distillation  of  no  clodpoll!  Our 
Professor  is  no  tomnoddy.  He  is  not  Davus,  but 
Oedipus:  not  a  simple  servant,  but  a  solver  of 
sphinx's  puzzles.  What  a  heaven-born  genius  he 
has  for  sifting  the  wheat  from  the  chaff  in  the 
(jospel  narratives!  Only  a  crone  or  a  doodle  could 
fail  lo  i)e  satisfied  with  such  "achieved  results." 

Jesus  was  "probably"  the  son  of  Joseph  and 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  5 

Mary,  and  "probably"  He  was  born  "in  Nazareth 
of  Galilee"!  "Achieved  results"!  Angels  and 
ministers  of  grace  defend  us!  For  surety  we  have 
undetermined  "probability"— a  chance,  a  likeli- 
hood, a  presumption,  a  nothing.  Thin  air!  It  is 
most  distressing;  it  is  really  perplexing;  it  is,  in 
fact,  an  "acute  problem." 

"Concerning  the  days  of  his  youth  and  young 
manhood,  we  have  no  clear  information." 

Seen  through  a  mist,  dim,  nebulous,  obscure. 
We  clutch  at  the  shadows  as  they  fall  and  fade. 

"His  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  the  age  of  twelve 
(Luke  2  :  39-52)  may  not  be  historical,  but  it  is 
certainly  in  keeping  with  any  inferences  that  may 
fairly  be  drawn  from  his  later  development." 

"May  not  be  historical"!  But  that  is  of  no  con- 
sequence. Professor  Inference  knows  the  way. 
We  are  as  dull  as  a  beetle  not  to  have  discovered 
this  for  ourselves.  The  record  "may  not  be  his- 
torical," but  the  inference  "drawn  from  his  later 
development"— all  knowledge  of  which  is  derived 
from  the  self-same  record— is  as  sound  and  as 
sweet  as  a  nut.  So  the  lame  dog  is  helped  over 
the  stile. 

"Whatever  else  we  may  or  may  not  believe  re- 
garding his  conception  of  himself,  we  are  con- 
strained to  hold  that  he  considered  his  life  and 
teaching  the  consummation  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy,  and  that  he  builded  consciously  on  the 
basis  of  truth  the  prophets  had  already  laid  down." 


6  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

"Constrained  to  hold"!  We  were  getting  the  im- 
pression that  nothing  could  hold  him.  But  "con- 
strained to  hold" — what?  The  "Ufe  and  teach- 
ing"— no  reference  to  death,  resurrection,  ascen- 
sion— of  Jesus  to  be  "the  consummation  of  Old 
Testament  prophecy."  This  is  what  Jesus  con- 
sidered in  His  conception  of  Himself!  How  does 
the  Professor  know  that  Jesus  so  considered  His 
life  and  teaching?  We  may  be  slow  of  thought 
here,  but  when  we  have  a  sure  thing  we  want  to 
be  sure  that  we  have  it. 

"Regarding  his  early  environment,  we  know 
that  he  had  four  brothers  and  at  least  two  sisters, 
and  it  is  probable" — this  note  of  uncertainty  is 
discouraging — "that  he  learned  the  trade  of  his 
father,  who  was  a  master-builder  in  Nazareth." 

"It  is  quite  likely  [fine!]  that  our  mental  pic- 
ture, (fine  again!)  should  include  visits  to  Jerusa- 
lem and  to  the  larger  towns  of  Galilee,  where 
Greco-Roman  culture  had  considerable  standing. 
The  Jewish  scribes  undoubtedly  [good!!  influenced 
him  positively  as  well  as  negatively  [best  yet!) 
for,  while  he  rejected  the  rabbinical  system 
absolutely,  there  were  broad-minded  expon- 
ents of  rabbinism,  like  Rabbi  Hillel,  whose  loftier 
teaching  was  not  unlike  that  of  Jesus  himself." 

"It  is  only  fair  to  assume  that  these  heredi- 
tary and  environmental  forces  imparted  form  as 
well  as  content  to  Jesus'  expanding  thought,  but 
they  do  not  explain  his  exalted  personality." 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  7 

Nor  does  the  Professor  explain  that  exalted  per- 
sonality. It  is  the  profound  enigma  of  the  human 
Christ  dis-crowned  of  deity.  Knowing  so  little 
the  Professor  should  tell  us  by  what  intellectual 
process  he  comes  to  the  knowledge  of  what  he 
does  know.  How  does  he  know  that  Jesus  "had 
four  brothers  and  at  least  two  sisters"?  And  how 
does  he  not  know  that  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethle- 
hem? Why  is  the  record  so  authoritative  in 
the  one  case,  and  so  untrustworthy  in  the  other? 
In  what  crucible  does  the  Professor  separate  the 
dross  from  the  gold?  * 'Achieved  results"  are,  in 
all  conscience,  to  be  desired,  but  we  want  some- 
thing other  and  above  an  * 'Assistant  Professor's" 
ipse  dixit. 

The  Call  to  the  Messianic  Life 

Here  the  Professor  speaks  ex  cathedra.  But  be- 
fore his  pronouncement  let  us  hear  Matthew  and 
John. 

Matthew  says:  "In  those  days  came  John  the 
Baptist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  and 
saying,  Repent  ye:  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
at  hand.  For  this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by 
the  prophet  Esaias,  saying,  The  voice  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness.  Prepare  ye  the  way  of 
the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight." 

John  says:  "There  was  a  man  sent  from  God, 
whose  name  was  John.  The  same  came  for  a  wit- 


8  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

ness,  to  bear  witness  of  the  Light,  that  all  men 
through  him  might  believe.  He  was  not  that 
Light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  that  Light. 
John  bare  witness  of  him,  and  cried,  saying.  This 
was  he  of  whom  I  spake.  He  that  cometh  after  me 
is  preferred  before  me;  for  He  was  before  me. 
And  of  his  fullness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace 
for  grace.  For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but 
grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ.  No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time;  the  only  begotten 
Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath 
declared  him.  And  this  is  the  record  of  John, 
when  the  Jews  sent  priests  and  Levites  from  Jeru- 
salem to  ask  him.  Who  art  thou?  And  he  con- 
fessed, and  denied  not;  but  confessed,  I  am  not 
the  Christ.  And  they  asked  him.  What  then? 
Art  thou  Elias?  And  he  saith,  I  am  not.  Art  thou 
that  prophet?  And  he  answered.  No.  Then  said 
they  unto  him,  Who  art  thou?  that  we  may  give 
an  answer  to  them  that  sent  us.  What  sayest 
thou  of  thyself?  He  said,  I  am  the  voice  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  Make  straight  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  as  said  the  prophet  Esaias." 

The  Professor  says:  "That  John  the  Baptist 
preceded  Jesus,  baptized  him,  and  in  more  essen- 
tial ways  prepared  the  way  for  him,  is  certain. 
That  he  sustained  such  a  conscious  relation  to 
Jesus  as  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  John  record 
is  improbable." 

"He   [John]   inaugurated   the   rite  of  baptism 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  9 

which,  with  him,  differed  from  all  previously 
known  religious  lustrations  and  furnished  the 
basis  for  later  Christian  practice.  Finally,  he 
baptized  Jesus  himself." 

"The  nature  of  the  baptismal  accounts  and 
the  testimony  of  the  later  parts  of  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  warrant  our  holding  that,  at  his  baptism, 
Jesus  had  an  unusual  inner  experience  which 
determined  his  whole  after-life." 

"The  previous  development  in  Jesus'  inner  life 
would  lead  him  to  sympathize  with  John's 
movement  and,  with  others,  to  join  it  through 
the  rite  of  baptism.  This  notable  event  seems  to 
have  brought  his  developing  experiences  to  a 
focus  and  to  have  given  him  divine  assurance 
of  the  rightness  and  reality  of  his  own  relation 
to  God  and  to  man.  It  convinced  him  that  in 
the  propagation  of  his  own  life  lay  the  hope  of 
men,  and  naturally,  being  a  Jew  of  his  own  time, 
he  associated  this  experience  and  work  with  the 
messianic  idea  and  began  to  think  of  himself, 
probably,  as  Messiah." 

"Jesus  did  not  relate  these  experiences  till 
later  in  his  life,  and  then  only  to  his  closest 
friends.  The  externalized  features  of  the  bap- 
tismal accounts  in  Matthew  and  in  Luke,  there- 
fore, must  be  considered  unhistorical." 

"The  parabolic  accounts  [of  the  temptation] 
given  us  by  Matthew  and  Luke  really  revolve 
about  the  one  thought  of  compromise." 


10       THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

"Back  of  the  accounts  lies  no  external  struggle, 
nor  yet  a  mere  phantom  of  early  interpretation. 
It  was  a  real  but  inward  event  which  Jesus 
probably  related  to  his  disciples  at  a  later  time 
in  parabolic  terms." 

The  Professor  seems  hard  put  to  it  in  his  arduous 
endeavor  to  squeeze  good  juice  out  of  what  he 
considers  a  very  bad  lemon.  "Improbable"  and 
"unhistorical"  are  the  "gold  dust  twins"  that 
do  the  work  for  him  when  he  wants  to  expunge 
from  the  record  all  undesirable  evidence.  Give 
us,  by  all  means,  an  expurgated  edition  of  the 
Gospels!  Blow  the  mist  away  that  we  may  see 
what  there  is  to  be  seen!  Then  the  "temptation" 
of  Jesus  will  find  its  true  perspective  in  "the 
parabolic  accounts  given  us  by  Matthew  and 
Luke."  What  a  refreshing  harlequinade!  There 
was  "no  external  struggle";  nor  was  it  "a  mere 
phantom  of  early  interpretation" — whatever  that 
may  mean:  no,  it  was  "a  real  but  inward  event 
which  Jesus  probably  related  to  his  disciples 
at  a  later  time  in  parabolic  terms." 

"Back  of  the  accounts  lies  no  external  struggle"! 
You  have  only  to  keep  your  eye  on  the  drop- 
scene,  and  let  your  imagination  inform  you  about 
what  is  taking  place  behind  the  curtain.  That 
is  "modern  criticism."  "A  real  but  inward 
event"!  "Externalized"  in  "parabolic  terms"  in 
order  to  bring  it  within  the  range  of  the  dis- 
ciples' apprehension!    Jesus — a  master  of  harle- 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  11 

quin  in  pantomimes;  and  the  Gospel  record — a 
lie! 

The  Chronology  of  the  Ministry 

'The  scene  and  length  of  Jesus'  activity  cannot 
be  accurately  determined.  The  unreliability  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  meagerness  of  the 
Synoptics  leave  the  matter  in  the  twilight. 
Whether  his  ministry  lasted  one  year  or  three, 
we  cannot  say." 

"Unreliability" —  * 'meagerness" —  "twilight"! 
Peering  about  among  unnumbered  "probabili- 
ties" we  "see  through  a  glass  darkly"  and  are 
thus  enabled  to  cross  the  poiis  asinonim.  Arriv- 
ing on  the  other  side  we  are  obliged  to  crawl  on  all 
fours  in  order  to  find  anything  worth  while.  If 
the  Gospels  are  "unreliable"  and  "meager"  in 
their  statement  of  fact,  they  are  equally  "un- 
reliable" and  "meager"  as  a  ground  for  "infer- 
ence." Assumption,  conjecture,  guesswork, 
postulation,  speculation:  these  are  the  assets 
that  enable  the  Professor  to  strike  a  balance  and 
continue  in  business.  With  such  resources  intel- 
lectual solvency  is  a  dead  certainty.  Figure  of 
speech,  flight  of  fancy,  flowers  of  rhetoric,  well- 
rounded  periods,  extravagant  language,  flourish 
and  fustian,  ore  rolimdo!  all  this,  and  more  of  like 
stuff,  will  enable  the  Professor  to  hold  down  his 
seat,  when  the  sole  sources  of  information  are 


12  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

found   to   be    "unreliable,"    "unhistorical,"   and 
*'meager." 

The  Early  Preaching 

"We  are  told  that  he  began  in  Galilee  to  preach 
the  'gospel  of  the  kingdom.'  What  that  'good 
news'  was  we  shall  not  discuss  here." 

To  "discuss"  the  "good  news"  would  be  irrele- 
vant and  immaterial.  Moreover,  in  view  of  the 
"unreliability"  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the 
"meagerness"  of  the  Synoptics,  who  can  really 
tell  whether  or  not  there  is  any  "good  news"  to 
discuss?  We  regret  that  the  light  goes  under  a 
bushel  when  there  is  such  sore  need  of  an  open  and 
steady  flame.  But  the  Professor  is  sifting  the 
evidence,  he  is  making  a  critical  and  minute  ex- 
amination, he  has  undertaken  a  systematic  search 
for  the  truth,  he  is  resolving  the  Gospels  into 
their  original  and  constituent  elements,  he  is 
making  an  exhaustive  inquiry  that  embraces  all 
sources;  meanwhile,  the  good  news  may  await 
later  consideration.  Aye,  and  sinners  are  dying, 
awaiting  the  result  of  that  inquisition.  While 
the  Professor  is  ferreting  out  and  feeling  the 
pulse  of  the  witnesses,  somebody  else  ought  to 
occupy  his  chair  and  draw  his  pay. 

"Besides  preaching,  Jesus  certainly  performed 
acts  of  healing,  chiefly  on  those  who  thought 
themselves  possessed  by  demons." 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  13 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  Professor  that  the 
demoniacs  of  Gadara  are  dead.  They  never 
would  have  stood  for  that  statement.  They 
were  not  really  possessed  with  demons;  they 
only  thought  they  were!  Some  sort  of  psychologi- 
cal excitement!  Shades  of  night!  What  a  cruel 
imposition  to  have  been  thimble-rigged  like  that! 
What  would  they  not  have  done  to  this  Gamaliel 
of  the  Jersey  sand,  had  he  gone  to  them  with 
a  tale  like  that!  They  ''thought  themselves 
possessed"!  "Achieved  results"!  Subject  the  life 
of  Jesus  to  the  "critical  test"  and  follow  the  road 
of  the  "historical  method"  to  a  "trained  and 
informed  commonsense."  Draw  the  curtain.  It 
is  enough. 

Early  Difficulties 

"These  difficulties  soon  came,  for  Jesus'  plain 
speaking  quickly  aroused  the  opposition  of  the 
rabbis  and  brought  about  the  great  conflict  which 
culminated  at  the  cross." 

"Thoughts  like  that  of  Mark  x  :  45  must  have 
been  in  his  mind  increasingly:  Tor  even  the 
Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many.'  How  far  Jesus  went  toward  a  solution 
of  this  dark  problem  we  do  not  know  and  he 
leaves  us  free  to  form  our  own  theories  of  it." 

What  dark  problem?     His  giving  His  life    a 


14  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

ransom  for  many?  And  of  this  are  we  free  to 
form  our  own  theory?  What  conjecture,  in  the 
exercise  of  his  freedom,  does  the  Professor 
hazard?    Listen! 

"The  Gospels  support  the  conclusion  to  which 
our  natural  inferences  would  lead.  He  at  least 
submitted  to  his  fate,  believing  it  to  be  the  will 
of  God  and  believing,  also,  that  his  death  would, 
in  some  way,  advance  the  interests  of  the  king- 
dom." 

Into  such  a  shadowy  void  the  Professor's 
"natural  inferences"  lead  him.  But  on  this  sub- 
ject he  has  more  to  say: 

"For  a  time  he  kept  all  these  thoughts  to 
himself.  The  disciples  were  not  prepared  to 
understand  or  to  endure  them.  Weeks  of  close 
intercourse,  however,  in  these  days  of  compara- 
tive retirement,  must  have  enlightened  their 
minds  and  strengthened  their  wills.  At  any  rate, 
at  the  end  of  his  sojourn  in  the  northern  dis- 
tricts, Jesus  seems  to  have  broken  to  them  his 
dire  forebodings.  In  Mark,  these  teachings  do 
not  appear  until  the  time  of  Peter's  confession, 
and  the  psychological  situation  makes  this  view 
of  the  matter  so  fitting  that  we  may  conclude 
that  any  contrary  representation  found  in  the 
other  gospels  is  due  to  unhistorical  transposition 
or  to  later  reflection." 

Chaos  is  come  again!  The  Gospels  are  a 
"fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms"  and  the  scattered 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN       15 

members  that  cannot  be  articulated  with  "natural 
inferences"  must  be  thrown  to  the  scrap-heap. 
"Later  reflection"  is  responsible  for  the  vexatious 
material  that  has  been  brought  in  to  augment 
and  garnish  the  original  record.  A  knot  worthy  to 
be  unloosed!  This  Professor,  who  knows  so  many 
things  that  are  not  so,  and  so  few  things  that  are 
so,  ought  to  be  given  time  and  opportunity  to  look 
for  another  job.  In  his  pursuit  of  "natural 
inferences"  he  has  gone  too  far  afield  ever  to  get 
back  again  in  time  for  further  usefulness  in  the 
chair  of  "Biblical  Instruction." 

The  Change  at  Caesarea  Philippi 

"Peter's  confession  came  as  a  result  of  the 
close  association  with  Jesus  during  the  days  of 
retirement  in  the  north,  and  it  was  evidently  of 
great  significance  both  to  Jesus  and  to  his  dis- 
ciples." 

Another  "inference"!  Peter's  confession,  ac- 
cording to  the  record,  was  the  effect  of  a  direct 
revelation  from  God, — "And  Jesus  answered  and 
said  unto  Him,  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona; 
for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  This 
saying  of  Jesus,  being  counter  to  the  Assistant 
Professor's  assumption,  may  have  found  its  way 
into  the  Gospel  narrative  through  "later  reflec- 
tion."    Bah! 


16  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

Jesus'  Expectation  of  Death  and  Resurrection 

"Immediately  after  Peter's  confession  Jesus 
began  to  emphasize  the  suffering  and  death  to 
come." 

In  proof  thereof,  Mark  viii  :  31-37;  Mark 
ix  :  9-10;  Mark  ix  :  31-32;  Mark  x  :  33-34;  and 
Mark  x  :  45,  are  cited. 

"We  must  bear  in  mind,"  continues  the  Pro- 
fessor, "in  using  these  passages,  the  probabihty 
of  their  reflecting  in  part  the  views  of  a  later  time 
when  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  had 
acquired  paramount  importance  and  a  more 
definite  significance." 

"Similarly,  with  regard  to  the  specific  sayings 
referring  to  his  resurrection,  it  may  be  that  these 
verses  merely  record  what,  in  the  light  of  their 
experiences,  later  disciples  thought  he  must 
have  said." 

"We  may  not  know  just  what  he  thought  or 
said.    Probably  we  do  not  know." 

Unexplored  ground!  Unknown  quantities!  Virgin 
soil!  "We  may  not  know"!  "Probably  we  do  not 
know"!  Why  drop  the  bucket  into  an  empty  well! 
What's  the  use!  We  might  as  well  beat  water  with 
a  stick  or  bay  at  the  moon.  This  sowing  the  sand, 
speaking  to  the  winds,  striving  after  impossibili- 
ties, are  all  as  useless  and  vain  as  whistling  jigs 
to  a  milestone.  We  might  as  well  be  employed 
in  sweeping  the  moon-beams  from  the  campus. 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  17 

Commenting  on  John  xiv  :  16-20  the  Professor 
says: 

'These  words  cannot  be  taken  as  coming  from 
Jesus  himself,  for  they  are  thoroughly  charac- 
teristic of  the  phraseology  and  point  of  view  of  the 
author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel." 

So  goes  on  the  process  of  reduction  to  nothing. 
Erase,  expunge,  exterminate,  nip,  nullify,  mow 
down,  abridge,  depreciate,  destroy.  The  star 
of  inspiration  is  on  the  wane!    But  listen  to  this! 

*'If  the  transfiguration  story  is  not  entirely  a 
myth,  back  of  the  evident  legendary  embellish- 
ments there  may  lie  a  real  experience  of  an  exalted 
nature — an  experience  which  Jesus  shared  with 
his  closest  friends,  growing  out  of  the  kind  of 
conversation  that  was  now  uppermost  with 
them." 

How  much  longer  shall  executive  authority 
license  and  allow  such  a  Decoy-duck  to  lure  our 
boys  into  the  muculent  ooze  of  a  free-thinking, 
Bible-dishonoring,  Anti-Christian  rationalism? 

**If  the  transfiguration  story  is  not  entirely  a 
myth"!  If  not— then  "back  of  the  evident 
legendary  embellishments"!  Look  at  the  cold 
type!  Did  you  send  your  boy  to  college  with 
the  understanding  that  he  was  to  be  inoculated 
with  such  virus?  Were  chairs  of  Biblical  In- 
struction endowed  with  Christian  money  to 
support  such  perversion?  Is  there  to  be  found 
for   these   boys   no   escape   from   such   spiritual 


18  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

assassination?  So  long  as  a  tolerant  clergy  are 
content  to  seal  up  their  eyes  and  sleep  like  a 
dormouse,  regardless,  indifferent,  and  unconcerned, 
there  will  be  forthcoming  no  remedial  decrees 
to  silence  and  suppress  such  pernicious  and 
detestable  teaching.  It  passes  the  subtlest  power 
of  the  imagination  to  understand  how  it  happens 
that  a  man  that  has  lost  his  faith  in  the  Bible  is 
ordinarily  the  man  that  is  chosen  as  best  qualified 
to  fill  the  chair  of  Biblical  Instruction.  Let  the 
Tartufes  that,  with  gum  shoes  and  dark  lanterns, 
have  crept  into  our  institutions  of  learning, 
there  to  be  vested  in  cap  and  gown  to  make  culls 
and  gulls  of  our  boys,  be  stripped  of  their  masks 
and  shipped  to  limbo  where  they  belong.  Is  there 
no  vitriolic  vocabulary  caustic  enough  to  make 
the  satire  sufficiently  pungent?  No  voice  to 
awaken  the  conscience  and  arouse  a  Christian 
sentiment  that  shall  express  itself  in  peremptory 
challenge  of  such  teaching?  So  long  as  there  is 
no  positive  and  emphatic  protest  these  "learned" 
sappers  and  miners  will  continue  their  under- 
ground work  of  wrecking  the  faith.  The  "Assist- 
ant Professor,"  under  the  spell  of  his  exhilarating 
hallucination,  seems  to  believe  that  he  possesses 
a  mental  dynamite  that  will  blow  out  the  founda- 
tions. 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  19 

The  Last  Journey  to  Jerusalem 

"Mark  assigns  to  this  period  a  considerable 
amount  of  undoubtedly  genuine  teaching." 

This  is  a  concession  hardly  to  be  expected, — 
but  the  gold  is  soon  dimmed! 

"Out  of  the  many  events  and  voluminous  teach- 
ing of  these  last  days  many  of  our  most  precious 
gospels  traditions  have  come.  To  be  sure, 
accretions  have  crept  into  the  teaching  and 
incidents  have  been  added  without  warrant." 

No  sooner  does  one  fog  lift  than  another  one 
descends.     But  we  totter  on  after  our  guide. 

"A  simple  parting-meal  has  been  started  on  its 
course  of  transformation  into  a  miraculous 
mystery,  and  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  Jesus  is  repre- 
sented discoursing  in  the  terms  of  Alexandrian 
philosophy.  In  general,  however,  the  tradition  is 
sound  and  we  get  a  more  detailed  picture  of 
Jesus  here  than  at  any  other  point  in   his  life." 

"A  simple  parting-meal,"  transforming  "into 
a  miraculous  mystery";  Jesus  "represented"  as 
"discoursing  in  terms  of  Alexandrian  philoso- 
phy";  and  "the  tradition"  bringing  this  to  us— 
"sound"! 

From  what  a  blinding  illusion  we  have  been 
delivered!  The  Lord's  Supper,  reverentially  ob- 
served throughout  the  years,  is  stripped  of  its 
real  significance  and  is  become  but  the  vague  and 
uncertain  memorial  of  a   "parting-meal."    The 


20  THE   DEVIL   IN   CAP   AND  GOWN 

solemn  valedictory,  recorded  in  the  Gospel  of  John, 
was  never  uttered  by  Jesus;  He  is  only  "repre- 
sented" as  so  speaking;  the  words  themselves 
are  but  the  expression  of  the  musing  of  some  mys- 
tic in  the  Alexandrian  school  of  philosophy.  The 
flickering  "light  of  modem  criticism"  is  leading  us 
further  and  further  into  the  gloom  of  the  cave  of 
despair. 

"There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  story  of  the 
'anointing  at  Bethany,'  nor  the  main  fact  of  the 
'triumphal  entry.'  After  his  Gahlean  and  Perean 
triumphs,  he  would  naturally  be  the  center  of 
attention  at  the  great  feast  and  would  arouse 
enthusiasm  among  the  many  representatives  from 
these  provinces.  The  latter  story  had  doubtless 
been  embellished,  however,  to  make  it  fit  into 
Old  Testament  prophecy.  Similarly,  the  story 
of  the  'cursing  of  the  fig  tree'  is  probably  an 
example  of  the  development  of  a  parable  into  a 
miracle." 

The  record  of  the  triumphal  entry — "em- 
bellished"! "To  make  it  fit  into  the  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy"!  And  worse  still,  if  it  is  pos- 
sible, parables  develop  into  miracles  and  parade 
in  lx)rrowed  plumes.  Thus  again  the  Gospel 
narrative  is  branded  as  a  fiction  or  a  forgery;  it 
is,  in  the  estimation  of  this  critic,  but  a  tar- 
radiddle,  garnished  by  him  with  a  Judas  kiss. 
Is  there  no  rebuke  for  this  wearying  suggestion  of 
falsehood :  no  way  to  rusticate  this  rashling  that 


THE  DEVIL   IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  21 

has  openly  dared  to  cast  this  infamous  slur  upon 
God's  Word?  In  the  desperate  competition  for 
distinction  among  the  critics  let  this  one  advance 
to  the  front.  *'None  but  himself  could  be  his 
parallel." 

The  Last  Week  in  Jerusalem 

"According  to  the  Gospel  of  John,  Jesus  began 
his  work  with  the  so-called  'cleansing  of  the 
temple,'  and  we  therefore  usually  assume  that 
there  were  two  occasions  on  which  Jesus  per- 
formed this  act.  Undoubtedly  the  Synoptics  are 
right  in  placing  this  striking  event  at  the  end  of 
Jesus'  life,  and  the  author  of  John  has  trans- 
ferred it  to  the  beginning  for  some  reason  of  his 
own  and  iji  disregard  of  the  historical  facts." 

The  Synoptics  are  right  and  John  is  wrong! 
None  other  than  a  second  Daniel  could  so  easily 
detect  and  so  delicately  adjust  all  difficulties. 
By  all  means,  give  us  an  expurgated  edition  of 
the  Bible,  with  all  "forgeries,"  "fabrications," 
"embellishments,"  and  "reflections"  eliminated, 
and  we  shall  have  left,  perhaps,  some  jot  or 
tittle  that,  through  some  delicately  adjusted 
teinoscope,  may,  possibly,  escape  the  vanishing 
point.  The  Professor,  with  his  omniscient  and 
all-comprehending  view  of  divine  revelation, 
should  clear  the  gospel  road  of  its  rubbish,  set 
up  legible,  explicit,  intelligible  signs,  that  those, 


22  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

upon  whose  track  are  the  avengers  of  blood,  may 
make  unhindered  their  flight  to  the  City  of 
Refuge,  if,  indeed,  in  "the  light  of  modern  criti- 
cism," a  City  of  Refuge  is  any  longer  of  necessity. 

"How  much  of  the  reported  discourses,  about 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom  (Matt.  chap,  xxiv; 
Mark,  chap,  xiii;  Luke,  chap,  xxi),  comes  from 
Jesus,  and  how  much  from  early  Christian  tradi- 
tion, is  impossible  to  say." 

But,  Professor,  Why  impossible  to  say?  Your 
wonderful  acumen,  your  fine  and  penetrating 
perception,  your  extraordinary  faculty  for  original 
creation,  your  ready  and  accurate  discernment 
and  judgment,  your  intellectual  acuteness,  sagac- 
ity and  insight,  your  intuitive  appreciation  of 
what  is  right,  proper  and  fit,  your  remarkable 
fineness  and  rare  delicacy  of  thought,  your  most 
adequate  mental  power  to  receive  and  to  under- 
stand, your  heaven-born  genius,  in  short,  your 
nous,  should  make  it  impossible  for  you  to  say, 
"It  is  impossible  to  say."  Tell  us  frankly  how  to 
escape  from  the  flexuous  and  sinuous  path  over 
which  you  ha\'e  been  leading  us,  and  to  the  end  of 
which  we  are  limping  along.  Tell  us  about  the 
death  of  Jesus.     What  was  its  significance? 

"Jesus'  death  has  been  theologized  out  of  all 
true  perspective.  The  unalterable  fact  that  it 
was  the  climax  of  his  life  of  love  and  service  has 
thereby  been  attested,  but  often  in  unmeaning, 
if  not  actually  illogical  and  anti-ethical  terms." 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  23 

The  answer  is  vague.     It  is,  in  fact,  an  evasion. 

The  Professor  further  tells  us: 

"We  do  not  have  to  be  trained  theologians  to 
understand  either  the  necessity  of  the  cross 
or  its  main  significance." 

True  enough.  But  we  should  like  to  know  just 
what,  in  the  Professor's  judgment,  is  its  main 
significance?  Is  it  merely  the  attestation  of 
"His  life  of  love  and  service?"  This  and  nothing 
more?  Or,  did  He  die,  that,  by  virtue  of  His 
precious  blood,  lost  and  guilty  sinners  might  be 
redeemed  to  God?  Inference,  speculation,  in- 
duction: these  cannot  determine  values  here. 
We  must  know,  in  the  collapse  and  beggary  of  all 
other  hope,  if  for  sinners  there  has  been  accom- 
plished redemption  through  the  vicarious  suffering 
and  death  of  the  Lamb  of  God.  By  His  blood 
are  we  justified?  Shall  we  be  saved  from  wrath 
through  Him?  These  questions.  Professor,  you 
leave  unanswered.  Your  "critical  theory"  leads 
to  "the  beautiful  Isle  of  Nowhere." 

The  Resurrection 

"We  must  now  endeavor  to  present  the  prob- 
able facts  underlying  the  resurrection  stories, 
and  estimate  their  significance.  The  signs  and 
portents,  the  empty  grave,  the  definite  period  of 
three  days,  the  physical  appearances,  the  forty- 


24  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

day  period  and  the  ascension— all  these  may  best 
be  put  one  side." 

The  field  here  is  indeed  swept  bare  that  we  may 
range  at  will  in  the  dreamy  realm  of  speculative 
imagination.  There  were  no  signs,  no  portents, 
no  empty  grave,  no  definite  period  of  three  days, 
no  physical  appearances,  no  forty-day  period,  no 
ascension.  What,  then,  is  there  left  to  us? 
Faute  de  mieux — An  alternative! 

"We  have  to  choose  between  an  objectively  real, 
but  non-physical,  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of 
Jesus,  and  some  kind  of  vision  theory." 

Beyond  all  dispute,  and  no  mistake,  we  are 
here  facing  a  distinctly  disagreeable  dilemma. 
"The  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  objec- 
tively real,  but  non-physical" — an  apparition,  a 
supposed  visible  spirit,  a  specter,  a  ghost! — or, 
"some  kind  of  vision  theory!"  This  offer  of  two 
theories,  one  of  which  may  be  chosen,  is  by  no 
means  alluring. 

"The  first" — so  continues  the  Professor — "is 
easy  to  understand,  granted  the  main  fact, 
because  it  requires  little  psychological  preparation 
on  the  part  of  the  disciples.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  a  bit  harder  to  accept  than  the  second 
iDecause  we  make  so  much  of  the  psychological 
in  these  days.  However,  through  the  activities 
of  the  Society  of  Psychical  Research,  we  have 
latterly  become  much  more  accustomed  to  the 
thought  of  the  possibility  of  this  sort  of  event. 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN       25 

In  fact,  there  is  no  insuperable  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  the  modern  man  who  inclines  to  the 
acceptance  of  this  first  explanation.  On  the 
contrary,  certain  tendencies  in  modern  psychology 
and  philosophy  pave  the  way  to  such  a  belief." 

They  "pave  the  way"  to  something  warmer 
and  more  tangible  than  a  mere  "belief" :  like  good 
intentions,  they  pave  the  way  to  hell.  Nor  do 
we  have  either  relish  or  gusto  for  the  delicatessen 
served  up  by  the  "Society"  through  whose 
"activities"  this  particular  choice  is  made  easy  of 
apprehension.  In  "Psychical  Research"  the 
"modern  man"  is  certainly  a  wonder.  He  pro- 
fesses power  of  communication  with  departed 
spirits,  but  the  distillation  of  all  the  wisdom  that 
he  has  thus  far  been  able  to  extract  from  shades 
and  phantoms  would  not  produce  enough  moisture 
to  wet  the  inside  of  an  eviscerated  shrimp. 

We  cannot  see  our  way  clear  to  choose  this 
"objectively  real,  but  non-physical,  manifestation 
of  the  spirit  of  Jesus" ;  it  is  an  unqualified  renuncia- 
tion and  a  definite  denial  of  the  Gospel  record, 
and  it  is  thereby  convicted  of  error. 

"The  second  theory  would  necessitate  an  ex- 
planation something  like  this:  Jesus'  imparta- 
tion  of  spiritual  life  to  his  followers,  especially 
to  the  receptive  and  impressionable  Peter,  was  too 
great  to  be  wiped  out  even  by  so  paralyzing  and 
unintelligible  a  calamity  as  his  death.  Certain 
words  of  Jesus,  conveying  hope  at  a  time  when  all 


26  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

seemed  dark,  would  linger  in  the  mind.  It  may 
also  be  that  these  words  expressed  a  belief  in  a 
speedy  return  and  establishment  of  the  king- 
dom. After  the  first  despair,  due  to  Jesus'  depart- 
ure, the  new  life  they  possessed  from  him  was 
brought  to  a  focus  by  their  return  to  Galilee,  and 
possibly,  also,  by  definite  forecasts  of  their 
Master.  It  then  produced  in  these  men,  of  an 
age,  race,  and  clime  predisposing  them  to  such 
things,  and  first  of  all  in  Peter,  whose  individual 
temperament  was  most  favorable  to  such  impres- 
sions, a  series  of  Visions.'  These  were  inner, 
spiritual  experiences,  easily  propagated  from 
individual  to  individual,  and  from  individuals  to 
groups.  Thus  they  spread,  probably  from  Peter 
first,  as  the  records  all  suggest,  and  in  every  case 
colored,  most  naturally,  by  the  content  of  Jesus' 
personality  by  which  their  lives  were  dominated." 

Little  comment  is  here  necessary.  This  self- 
styled  sage  never  so  fully  manifests  the  folly  of  his 
wisdom  as  when  he  attempts  by  constructive 
thinking  to  bring  together  and  put  up  a  new  temple 
of  truth  in  the  place  of  the  glorious  structure  that 
he  has  so  laboriously  attempted  to  pull  down. 

We  reject  the  second  choice,  as  we  did  the  first, 
and  for  the  same  reason;  it  is  an  unqualified 
renunciation  and  a  definite  denial  of  the  Gospel 
record,  and  it  is  thereby  convicted  of  error. 

But  our  preoption  is  challenged.  The  Professor 
says: 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  27 

'Tor  the  modern  man,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the 
choice  Hes  solely  between  these  two  views.  In 
either  case,  the  resurrection  accounts  prove  the 
actual  existence  of  a  spiritual  life  and  power 
which  enabled  men  to  brave  danger  and  death 
in  an  unpopular  cause,  for  an  unpopular  person; 
a  spiritual  life  and  power  which,  on  sure  historical 
grounds,  we  can  connect  with  the  life  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth;  a  spiritual  life  and  power  which, 
through  these  men,  has  come  down  through  the 
centuries  in  ever-increasing  fulness,  purity,  and 
beneficence.  These  facts  must  be  interpreted 
in  accordance  with  the  thought-atmosphere  of  our 
age,  but  they  must  be  interpreted,  and  no  inter- 
pretation is  true  to  fact  which  does  not  recognize 
the  spiritual  supremacy  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  in 
the  life  of  the  world." 

But  we  still  decline  to  accept  the  Professor's 
alternative.  We  protest  against  his  reassert  ion 
of  the  worn-out  mythical  theory,  with  its  admix- 
ture of  Pyrrhonism  and  rationalism;  and,  over 
against  his  daring  presumption,  we  place  these 
words: 

"Now  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he  rose  from 
the  dead,  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead?  But  if  there  be  no 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen: 
and  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching 
vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain.  Yea,  and  we 
are  found  false  witnesses  of  God;  because  we  have 


28  THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

testified  of  God  that  he  raised  up  Christ;  whom 
he  raised  not  up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead  rise  not. 
For  if  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised : 
and  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain;  ye 
are  yet  in  your  sins.  Then  they  also  which  are 
fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  perished.  If  in  this 
life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all 
men  most  miserable." 

This  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ  in  the  light  of 
ancient  revelation:  the  other  is  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  in  the  light  of  modern  criticism.  Between 
these  two  views  lies  the  choice.  Instead  of  the 
froth  and  the  foam,  the  spray  and  the  spume,  the 
barm  and  the  bubble  that  effervesce  from  the 
class-room  of  this  Princeton  Professor,  we  choose 
the  living  water  that,  clear  as  crystal,  flows  from 
the  throne  of  God. 

If  it  is  a  question  between  entity  and  non- 
entity, a  being  and  a  blank,  a  reality  and  a  nullity, 
a  subsistence  and  a  non-subsistence,  a  fact  and  a 
fancy,  a  truth  and  a  lie;  we  shall  stake  our  all  on 
the  Word  of  God,  and  shall  choose  the  truth,  and 
shall  repudiate  the  lie.  To  choose  the  other 
would  bind  us  to  the  conclusion  to  which  the  Pro- 
fessor has  come: 

"Instead  of  a  supposedly  objective  physical 
fact,  supporting  a  structure  full  of  mysterious 
dogmas,  we  get  an  objective,  or  at  least  equally 
real,  spiritual  fact — a  mass  of  such  facts,  indeed — 
which  goes  to  support  the  reality  and  supremacy 


THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN  29 

of  the  spiritual  life  of  Jesus.  Throu.G:h  him  we 
may  rise  to  belief  in  a  God,  of  like-minded  love 
and  righteousness,  whose  hands  direct  the  des- 
tinies of  the  whole  universe  of  men  and  things." 

So  the  curtain  falls!  Behind  the  screen  the 
"Professor  of  Biblical  Instruction"  is  perhaps 
creating  another  harlequin  to  present  before  the 
foot-lights.  Has  Princeton  come  to  this?  How 
are  the  mighty  fallen! 

Beyond  all  peradventure  the  Bible  will  survive 
the  "critical  test,"  but  how  long,  by  gift  and  by 
legacy,  are  Christian  men  and  women  to  continue 
their  support  of  Institutions  that  leave  unexpurged 
from  their  escutcheon  the  blot  of  such  detestable 
and  sweeping  heresies? 

What  remedy  is  there  for  such  bane?  One  way 
to  shrink  their  sinews  is  to  withhold  and  to  with- 
draw all  financial  help,  and  by  gift  and  legacy  to 
strengthen  the  institutions  that  remain  faithful 
to  God's  Word. 

Let  Balak,  with  his  house  full  of  silver  and  gold, 
support  the  Balaams  that  are  willing  and  eager  to 
respond  to  his  call.  Under  such  circumstance 
we  may  trust  Jehovah  to  force  from  the  lips  of  the 
unwilling  prophet  a  blessing  instead  of  a  curse. 

But  when  Princeton  University  or  any  other 
Educational  Institution,  founded  on  the  principles 
of  Christianity,  tolerates  without  rebuke,  and 
permits  without  protest  the  Word  of  God  to  be 
discredited,  to  be  dishonored,  and  to  be  branded 


30       THE  DEVIL  IN  CAP  AND  GOWN 

with  the  bar  sinister;  then  the  glory  of  that  In- 
stitution is  departed;  it  has  fully  forfeited  its 
claim  upon  the  sympathy  and  upon  the  support 
of  Christian  men  and  women. 

It  has  been  an  uncongenial  task  to  pass  under 
review  the  teaching  of  a  particular  Professor  un- 
known to  the  writer  except  in  the  light  that  has 
been  brought  to  a  focus  in  The  Biblical  World; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  seemingly  to  subject  to 
criticism  the  Trustees  of  a  great  University,  who 
are  leaders  in  the  scientific,  scholastic,  commer- 
cial and  theological  world.  To  direct  criticism 
exclusively  against  them  would  be  manifestly 
unfair;  for  we  are  painfully  aware  that  the 
teaching  under  reprobation  is  not  confined  to 
any  particular  University,  but  is  becoming 
alarmingly  common  and  offensively  loud-voiced 
in  many  of  our  Institutions  of  Learning. 

To  suffer  in  silence  may  leave  undisturbed  the 
palladium  of  peace,  but  peace  must  not  be  pre- 
served at  so  great  cost.  It  is  indeed  painful  to 
reflect  upon  the  dire  consequences  that  must 
inevitably  follow  such  misteaching,  and  we  plead 
for  a  protest  emphatic  and  authoritative  enough 
to  silence  and  suppress  a  propaganda  that  is 
leading  our  youth  into  the  blinding  mist  and 
unspeakable  sorrow  of  a  lost  faith. 


NOTE. 

Prior    to  the    publication    of    this    pamphlet 

there    was  sent    to    each    of    the    thirty-one 

Trustees  of  Princeton    University    a    note    as 
follows : 

My  dear  Sir: 

Enclosed  please  find  an  article  from 
the  February  issue  of  The  Biblical  World. 
May  I  venture  to  ask  if  the  views  pre- 
sented in  this  article  have  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  Trustees  of  Princeton  Uni- 
versity ? 

An  early  reply  would  be  much  appre- 
ciated. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Ford  C.  Ottman. 

From  the  responses  received  it  is  gratify- 
ing to  be  able  to  say  that  Mr.  Miller's  teach- 
ing is  as  obnoxious  to  many  —  possibly  an 
overwhelming  majority  —  of  the  Trustees,  as  it 
is  to  a  great  host  of  believers  in  the  integrity 
and  the  authority  of  the  Bible. 

There  remains,  however,  the  pertinent  ques- 
tion— How  much  longer  are  we  to  suffer  in  silence 
such  intolerable  misteaching  in  our  Institutions 
of  Learning? 


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